Child Mummy Sacrifice

Ten years ago, anthropologist Johan Reinhard, accompanied by Argentine and Peruvian colleagues, uncovered a sacred site at 22,000-feet on Mt. Llullaillaco. Beneath rock and ice, they discovered three Inca children each perfectly preserved. A six-year-old girl, a seven-year-old boy and a 15-year-old teenager they named the Maiden. Now, after more than five centuries, through the revelations of science and technology, we can finally tell their story. Forensic pathologists investigate the mummified bodies for answers: why they traveled nearly 1,000 miles, surviving the extremes of the desert and the threat of dangerous predators only to be killed upon arrival at their final destination? Who were they? Why were they chosen? National Geographic investigates these child mummies to piece together their final days and uncover the motivations of the ancient society that led them to their deaths.

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Ten years ago, anthropologist Johan Reinhard, accompanied by Argentine and Peruvian colleagues, uncovered a sacred site at 22,000-feet on Mt. Llullaillaco. Beneath rock and ice, they discovered three Inca children each perfectly preserved. A six-year-old girl, a seven-year-old boy and a 15-year-old teenager they named the Maiden. Now, after more than five centuries, through the revelations of science and technology, we can finally tell their story. Forensic pathologists investigate the mummified bodies for answers: why they traveled nearly 1,000 miles, surviving the extremes of the desert and the threat of dangerous predators only to be killed upon arrival at their final destination? Who were they? Why were they chosen? National Geographic investigates these child mummies to piece together their final days and uncover the motivations of the ancient society that led them to their deaths.